Wow skoo, you actually made that look good! It was my pleasure to get to know you better this year and it pumps me when a carver I admire buys a piece. His name is of course "Louis". Here are a few shots from Tiki Caliente, which was too much fun.
I hit this fire which was almost out as I crossed over the grapevine.
The weather was a gorgeous, breezy mid 90's for most of the week. I returned to 40s and heavy rain that hasn't stopped.
500 people showed up, 499 of them are drunk in this pic.

I had a fantastic time at Caliente Watango and it would be worth your while to attend! I took a month off carving but am glad to get back at it. I cut a great looking piece of cedar that had rotten away in the middle but maintained a nice outer shell.
Here is where we started.
He has a nice backside.
I took elements from Tiki Skips' sign because I liked the way the float looked and also the backlit crown section.
All lit up.
Many thanks to MadDog for the beautiful eucalyptus that he brought to me at Tiki Caliente!

I've been making progress on "Makemake". He is named after the god of fertility that the early inhabitants of Easter Island used for motivation in a racing competition down steep volcanic slopes, into shark infested waters to a rock island. There they would nab an egg from the nesting terns and try to be the first back to the village with it unbroken.
You can see the egg carefully tucked under his left hand or wing.
They were known as bird men so I wanted to give him a beak nose and also added a rock carving found on the island to the bottom part.
I used this red Tikiskip light from my bar to carve out the proper size but I ordered a blue one from him today as it will look more oceany.
The top portion will have one of those cheesy looking bulbs that change color.